The first step: throw out the flavor packet that comes with the ramen noodles. It's an artificially flavored salt lick. Use miso to flavor the broth. I buy a tub of red miso paste at health food or Asian food stores for about $4 and use it for soup and salad dressings. Packaged instant miso soup works well, too. Trader Joe's has a good version that's a good value.

A great discovery in the past year or so were frozen wild U.S.-harvested shrimp. I now keep a bag of them in my freezer so that I can grab a handful for a quick stir fry or soup. Simply put into a small colander and rinse with water to slightly thaw before cooking.

If you use chicken breast, leave it whole and toss with the lime or lemon juice, salt and pepper and quickly sear in olive or sesame oil for about three minutes per side until cooked through. Slice, and place on top of finished ramen soup.

And for those purists who will balk at this version and say, "Hey, that's not authentic!" Yeah, I know. I've had the real thing in Japan, too.

Quick Miso Ramen with Shrimp, Chicken or TofuLike so many soup recipes, this is just a starting point. I've included a bit of leafy greens, calamari, water chestnuts, grated ginger, garlic and even a bit of wasabi powder into this mix. If I've got leftover roasted chicken or precooked shrimp from another recipe, I skip the first step and just add it in at the end. Makes two servings.

1. Cut the lime or lemon in half. Juice one half into a bowl large enough to hold your shrimp, tofu or chicken. Cut the other into small pieces and set aside. Toss with the salt, pepper and about half the oil and let rest for a few minutes. Add the rest of the oil to a small saute pan or skillet over medium-high heat and saute the shrimp or chicken until cooked through.

2. Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Add the noodles and cook as directed by the package. Remove from heat and add the miso paste or soup mix plus the soy sauce and let steep for a couple of minutes.

3. Portion the soup into two bowls. Add the green onions, shoots and greens and stir through. Top with the egg and shrimp, tofu and the reserved lemon or lime pieces. Add sirarcha to taste if that's your thing.

5 Comments:

Timely writeup. While working at home yesterday, I pulled one of these little gems from the pantry. I was shocked to see 11 grams of saturated fat AND a couple of trans fat on the label. You might as well have a hot dog on a bun! Fortunately, I had some frozen chicken based soup with turkey andouille, lentils, and kale. Much better alternative!

As a young wife, I had a step-daughter who would simply look at dinner and pronounce it inedible. She loved Top Ramen, so I taught her to make it so that she could make her own dinner if she didn't like what I made. After the 5th night of yellow, salty noodles, she sat down at the table and from then on, she'd at least try everything. Top Ramen had broken her!

Ramen in Japan can be really good. Ramen, after all, is the Japanese term for Chinese noodles. When my 88-year old mother-in-law comes to visit I make her saimin, which is Hawaiian for ramen, every day for lunch. I use fresh Chinese noodles with I repackage in single portion-sized bags for freezing, dashi, yellow onions, green onions, Hawaiian-style Portuguese sausage (No Ka Oi brand), and togarashi (red pepper). It's real quick to cook, about 5 minutes, when she gets hungry, and in the end, less expensive than the packaged variety.